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Portland Tribune: Poller Opposites

July 23, 2014 | portlandtribune.com-- FORGET EVERYTHING you think you know about Portland's controversial, never-ending quest for road money.Since April, Transportation Commissioner Steve Novick and Mayor Charlie Hales have been pushing a "transportation user fee" that would send $50 million in vitamins every year into the city's anemic streetscape.Almost no one loves the proposal. Even its most ardent champions (Novick and Hales, for instance) can barely stomach the plan because it's regressive—levying the same to-be-determined flat fee from most residents regardless of their incomes. But Novick and Hales have also said, again and again in recent months, it's the Portland Bureau of Transportation's (BPOT) best shot at a steady stream of needed cash. They've waved around the results of a $28,000 survey, which they said shows Portlanders simply won't support an income tax increase, sales tax, or other proposals. READ FULL ARTICLE